Вход

вход по аккаунту

Патент USA US3035928

код для вставки на сайт или в блог

Ширина: (aвто)

Высота:

ссылки на документ

адрес страницы документа

адрес полноэкранного варианта

короткий адрес

a United‘ States Patent O?tice
3,035,918
Patented May 22, 1962
1
2
PROCESS FOR TREATING FOOD
Harold A. Sorgenti and Herman Nack, Columbus, and
3,035,918
is suf?cient to counterbalance the gravitational force on
free particles and to expand the bed, thus allowing move
ment of the particles, but is insu?icient to convert the
bed into a stream of particles. A bed of solid, dis
mesne assignments, to The Battalle Development Cor
upward gaseous current in the manner described is here
George F. Sachsel, Worthington, Ohio, assignors, by
poration, Columbus, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware
No Drawing. Filed June 1, 1959, Ser. No. 817,091
7 Claims. (Cl. 99-1)
crete particles subjected to and expanded by such an
inafter referred to as a ?uidized bed.
A ?uidized bed is a very effective heat-transfer system
to a foreign material. Much greater rates of heat trans
This invention relates to a process for treating food 10 fer are achievable by combining a solid and a gas to trans
fer heat than when ‘a gas alone is used. This is due to
by immersing it in a ?uidized bed of solid, discrete
the lower coe?icient of convection for a gas. Because
particles. More speci?cally, by this process food is par
of the greater e?iciency, much greater rates of heat trans
fer are achievable and good uniformity of heating is ob
Certain food products resulting 15 tainable.
tially or totally cooked, or cooled until frozen, by im
mersion in a ?uidized bed, wherein said bed is at the ap
propriate temperature.
from this process of food treatment are ‘also new and
novel.
Many processes presently exist for cooking food prod
ucts. These processes are based on cooking in a liquid,
‘or cooking in a gas. The two liquids most commonly
used for cooking foods are water and oil or molten
fat. Cooking in water has the disadvantage that the item
being cooked‘ picks up water, and consequently dehydra
tion is not possible. In addition, the maximum cooking
temperature that can be achieved is relatively low. Cook
ing in oil or molten fat permits higher cooking tempera
tures than water, but has the disadvantage that the food
The treatment of foods in a ?uidized bed presents a
unique situation. For example, in the disclosure of the
use of a ?uidized bed for the drying of fabrics, it is re
ported that the bed material seems to adhere to the fabric
and must be removed by vibrating the fabric after it
leaves the bed. It can be seen that this would be a very
undesirable result in the case of food treatment. The
adherence of the bed material to the food must either
be eliminated or controlled, if a tasty product is to be
obtained. In addition, a process for the drying of fabrics
is merely concerned with the removal of water from the
material. Cooking frequently brings about a chemical
change in the food and thus cooking is as sensitive as a
chemical reaction.
oil or fat. This retained fat or oil a?ects and masks the
A physical characteristic of a ?uidized bed is that it
?avor of the food. The caloric value of the food is also 3O
resembles a liquid. An object may be immersed in a
altered. Foods containing substantial amounts of re
?uidized bed of solid, discrete particles in the same man
tained cooking fat or oil cause digestive disorders in
ner that it may be immersed in a liquid. In addition, an
many people. The shelf and storage life of foods cooked
object may be passed through a ?uidized bed, just as it
in fat or oil is limited and determined by the time it
35 may be passed through a liquid. Thus, the food to be
takes for the retained oil or fat to become rancid.
treated is immersed in the ?uidized bed at the appro
Many foods are prepared by cooking in a heated gas.
being cooked picks up and retains large quantities of the
The gas most commonly used is air plus any combus
tion gases that maybe present. Unfortunately, air has
a low coe?icient of convection, necessitating relatively
long cooking times.
'
It is an object of this invention to provide a food-treat
priate temperature. It is allowed to remain there until
the treatment is ?nished. The food is then removed from
the bed.
.
The process of this invention may be readily used to
either add to or remove heat from the food depending
merely upon whether the ?uidized bed is hot or cold.
ing process wherein the food is treated in a ?uidized
However, to simpiify the discussion, adding of heat to the
bed.
food will be discussed in su?icient detail to convey the
It is an object of this invention to provide a food-treat
ing process utilizing heat transfer between a solid and a 45 over-all concept of the invention.
Since a food product is involved, that portion of the
?uidized bed.
?uidized bed wherein the food is immersed must be con?
It is a further object of this invention to cook foods
structed of a material suitable for food preparation, such
by immersing them in a ?uidized bed of hot solid, discrete
as aluminum or stainless steel.
particles.
The bed material is se
Another object of this invention is to cool and freeze 50 lected because of its ability to be ?uidized, its stability
at the temperature at which the bed is to be operated,
food by immersing it in a ?uidized bed of cool, solid, dis
crete particles.
and its safeness from a health standpoint. There are sev
'
It is a foremost object of this invention to provide a
eral materials that meet these requirements.
Among
fast, greaseless cooking method.
those that have been tried and found successful are sodium
fewer calories than the raw potato.
Another object of this invention is to provide a new
to be operated at a relatively low temperature, certain
foodstuffs such as sugar, rice, beans, and lentils may make
suitable bed materials. The bed can be operated over a
It.is another object of this invention to provide new 55 chloride, tn'clacium phosphate, limestone, limestone-salt
mixtures, and monosodium glutamate. Where the bed is
potato products that are greaseless and which contain
cooked nut product.
The above objects are achieved by the present inven 60 wide temperature range when nontoxic, inorganic, solid,
discrete particles are used as the bed material. It is
tion by immersing food in a ?uidized bed of solid, dis
preferable that the bed material not adhere to the food.
crete particles and treating the food in the ?uidized bed.
Of course, adherence of the bed material to the food may
If the bed particles are cold, then cooling of the food oc
be a desirable circumstance where the bed material is to
curs; if the bed particles are hot, then heating of the
food takes place. The bed particles may be used for 65 provide seasoning or ?avoring to the foods or is to pro-'
?avoring, seasoning, and as a coating material.
Because
of this radically di?erent method of treating food, new
food products result.
In this process a bed of solid, discrete particles is sub
jected to an upward gaseous current, the size and weight
of the particles and the velocity and nature of the cur
rent being so chosen that the force exerted by the current
vide a coating. If a bed material is a particularly desire
able one to use, but it adheres to the food, and this is un
desirable, this aspect can be overcome by coating the food
with a material that the bed material will not adhere to
before immersing the food in the bed. A speci?c example
of this procedure will be described in detail when the
cooking of potatoes is discussed.
3,035,918
3
4
The temperature of the bed is dictated by the food to
be cooked and the cooking time desired. There are
many methods for raising or lowering the bed tempera
ture. One method by which the bed temperature may
ized bed could simultaneously be used for cooking, ?avor
ing, and adding of a preservative to the food.
Since the cooking of potato slices, commonly called
potato chips, exempli?es the process of this invention,
the preparation of this food product will be discussed in
detail. The ?rst step in the preparation of the potato
be regulated is by heating the gaseous current passed
through the bed. The bed particles are raised to the
temperature of the gas stream. Cooling of the bed may
chip product in the slicing of the raw potato. Insofar
also be accomplished in many ways. Refrigerating the
as possible, uniformity of thickness of the slices of each
gaseous current before passing it through the bed is one
batch is maintained. In cooking potato chips, there is
method.
10 frequently a formation of bubbles on the chip. This
Food taste and ?avor could probably be varied by
bubble formation can be eliminated or minimized by
?uidizing the bed with gases other than air. Pure oxygen
making a plurality of punctures in the raw potato slices.
is one possibility. Flavor could also be varied by en
When the potato slices are cooked, the exterior surface
training or mixing ?avoring agents in the gaseous current
becomes moist. Most ?uidized bed materials will adhere
used to ?uidize the bed. For example, smoke could be 15 to this moist surface. When the potato slices were cooked
readily mixed with the ?uidizing gaseous current.
in a fluidized bed of sodium chloride, adherence and re
Smoked foods and foods with a smoky ?avor are very
tention of sodium chloride occurred in various degrees.
much in demand.
Thus, it was possible to salt the potato chips in the cook
In a production-type setup, the food to be treated in
ing step. Pickup of the bed material by the potato prod
the ?uidized bed could be suspended in the bed by means
uct can be controlled by (1) selection of the bed material
of wire baskets. This could be done on a continuous
basis. Still another possibility would be the use of a
and (2) by coating the potato slices before cooking.
Tricalciurn phosphate is the only ?uidized bed material
moving screen-type conveyor through the bed.
The
that was tried that did not adhere in some degree to the
speed of the baskets or the conveyor could be regulated
potato slice during cooking. Cooking in a combined bed
to provide the proper exposure time in the bed.
25 of tricalcium phosphate and sodium chloride would also
The process of this invention is especially useful and
result in a salted, cooked product, with a smaller salt
valuable as a substitute for the preparation of food by
pickup by the product. To cook potato chips in a ?uidf
the method of deep-fat frying. Foods prepared by the
deep-fat frying process pick up large quantities of the fat
during the preparation. Because of the large amounts
of fat retained by foods prepared in this manner they
have unique characteristics as food products.
For exam
ple, such properties as taste, digestibility, and caloric value
are affected.
By the process of this invention, no oil or
fat is present in the cooking step and any fat given oif
by the food during cooking reduces the caloric value of
the cooked article. Thus, by this process new food prod
ucts with unique tastes and ?avors and with a lower
calorie content can be prepared.
Speci?c examples of
ized bed of sodium chloride particles without pickup and
retention of sodium chloride by the potato slices, it is nec
essary to coat the potato slices with an inert, nontoxic
material to which the salt does not adhere. Preferably,
the coating should not adversely affect the taste, color, or
cooking characteristics of the potato slices. Coating ma
terials used for preparing potato chips included potato
?our, ?our, baking powder, monosodium glutamate, po
tato ?our suspensions, and monosodium glutamate solu
tion. Dry potato ?our was extremely satisfactory for re
ducing the salt pickup during cooking without leaving a
taste, ?lm, or color change. The potato slices may be
new. products resulting from this process are nuts and 40 effectively coated with potato ?our by immersing the
sliced potatoes cooked in a ?uidized bed. No cooking
slices in a ?uidized bed of the ?our. Of course, other
fat is picked up by the nuts or potatoes because none is
methods of coating the potato slices with potato ?our
present.
may also be used. For example, the slices may be
Foods prepared by this process include meats, poultry,
?sh, nuts, vegetables, and coffee. Especially suited for 45
tumbled in potato ?our.
'
When the potato slices have been coated, they are next
immersed in a ?uidized bed of sodium chloride particles.
A satisfactory product results in a reasonable time when
cooking by this process are potatoes, nuts, parched sweet
corn, shrimp, onion rings, and coffee.
The cooking of potatoes by the process of this inven
the bed is maintained at a temperature of not less than
tion yields a unique and especially tasty product. A fat
250° F. and not more than 550° F. The most tasty
and oil-free potato chip and “French fried” potato have 50 product is obtained when the bed temperature is not less
been prepared. The potato chip product resulting from
the process of this invention contains considerably fewer
than 300° F. and not more than 400° F. A stream of
heated air is used to ?uidize the bed and to maintain it
at the proper temperature. Good temperature control
calories than presently available potato chips prepared
by deep-fat frying. Fat comprises one-third to one-half
and uniform heating of the food product is attainable in
parts by weight of a potato chip prepared by deep-fat 55 the ?uidized bed method of cooking. When the potato
cooking. This retained fat increases the calorie content
of the potato chip and also controls and masks the taste
and ?avor.
chip has cooked to the desired degree, it is removed from
the ?uidized bed. An attractive potato chip, with a
brown color, and with a unique pleasing taste results
If it is' desirable or necessary to coat the food to be
from this process. Since no ‘fat or oil is picked up by
treated in the ?uidized bed to prevent or reduce adher 60 the potato in the cooking process, and, in fact, starch is
ence of a particular bed material to the food, the food may
given 01f and lost by the potato during its preparation,
be coated with an inert nontoxic material to which the
a new fat-free potato chip product results that has a
bed particles will not adhere before immersing the food
substantially lower calorie content than presently avail
in the cooking bed. The coating material can be applied
able products.
to the food by tumbling or by means of a ?uidized bed 65
The principles applicable to the preparation of a po
separate from the cooking bed. The coating material
tato chip product by this process are also applicable to
can be ?uidized in a bed and the food immersed in the
the preparation of a “French fried”-type potato product.
bed.
A “French fried”-type potato product as the term is used
The food to be treated can be ?avored either by add 70 herein results when a potato is cut into the shape of a
ing ?avoring material to the coating agent, the gaseous
French fried potato, but is cooked in a ?uidized bed so
?uidizing current, the cooking bed, or by adding the
that the cooked potato is free from cooking fat and
?avoring materials to the food after it is removed from
grease. ‘In general, these principles are also applicable
the cooking bed. For special effects two or more bed
to the preparation of other food products.
materials may be mixed together. Thus, the same fluid— 75
If it is desired to prepare a frozen food product, it
3,035,918
Raw potatoes were cut into the shape of French fried
potatoes (3 x % x % inches). They were then immersed
in a ?uidized bed of sodium chloride. The bed was
maintained at a temperature of 330° F. The potatoes
were completely cooked in 8 minutes and were evenly
EXAMPLE 1
browned, crisp, and tasty.
Raw potatoes were scrubbed and Washed to remove
dirt and a portion of the peel. The potatoes were sliced
into three di?erent thicknesses, using a conventional po
tato slicer.
In one batch the slicer was set to obtain 10
34 slices per inch, in another 25 slices per inch, and in
a third 17 slices per inch. No noticeable change in the
?nished product in texture, color, or bubble formation
occurred because of variation in the thickness of the
slice cooked. Cooking time is, of course, dependent on
the thickness of the slice, the thicker slice requiring a
longer time.
Potato slices of approximately uniform thickness were
6
EXAMPLE 6
mereIy would be necessary to cool the ?uidized bed in
stead of heating it.
The ‘following examples are intended to more clearly
de?ne and illustrate the process and products of this
invention.
EXAMPLE 7
Potatoes cut into the shape of French fried potatoes
(3 x % x % inches) were coated with potato ?our and
immersed in a ?uidized bed of sodium chloride. The
temperature of the ?uidized bed was 330° F. Sodium
chloride pickup and retention by the potato strips during
the cooking step was negligible. The potato strips were
completely cooked in about 8 minutes.
EXAMPLE 9
Potatoes cut into the shape of French fried potatoes
tumbled with potato ?our so as to obtain a coating of
the ?our on the slice. The coated slices were then trans 20 (3 x % x 1%; inches) were coated with potato ?our and
immersed in a ?uidized bed of sodium chloride. The
ferred to a wire basket. This basket was immersed in
temperature ‘of the ?uidized bed was 330° F. The po->
a ?uidized bed of sodium chloride particles. The tem
tatoes were removed from the ?uidized bed after a cook
perature of the ?uidized bed was regulated at 330° F.
ing time of 4 minutes. At this time, the potato was in
Temperature control was achieved by heating the air
circulated through the bed. The potatoes were removed 25 a partially cooked state. The partially cooked potatoes
were then immersed in a ?uidized bed of sodium chlo
from the ?uidized bed when cooked. When potatoes
sliced to a thickness of 25 slices per inch were used,
cooking time at a temperature of 330°F. was less than
3 minutes. A taste panel gave this product a very favor
able rating.
EXAMPLE 2
The procedure of Example 1 was repeated with the
exception that the bed was maintained at a temperature
of 475° F. Cooking time at this temperature was about
45 seconds, for potatoes sliced to a thickness of 25 slices
per inch.
EXAMPLE 3
Potatoes were sliced to a thickness of 25 slices per
ride maintained at a temperature of 0° F. or lower.
When ‘frozen, the potatoes were removed and stored for
Y a one-week period. The potatoes were then removed
30 from frozen storage, thawed, and the balance of the
cooking was performed in an oven ‘for a period of about
15 minutes.
EXAMPLE 10
Green cashew nuts were cooked in a ?uidized bed of
sodium chloride. The temperature of the bed was 330°
F. The nuts were completely cooked in about three
minutes, were evenly browned, and had excellent taste
and ?avor, with little or no salt pickup.
Presently, cashew nuts are cooked commercially by
deep-fat frying at 450° F. '[The storage period of cashew
inch. The potato slices were then coated with potato
nuts that have been deep-fat fried is limited since the
flour and immersed in a ?uidized bed of sodium chloride.
fat picked up in the cooking process becomes rancid.
The temperature of the cooking bed was 330° F. A
Nuts cooked in a ?uidized bed give off fat contained
crisp, evenly browned product was obtained after a
in
the nut during the cooking process. Thus, the re
cooking time of 165 seconds.
45
sult is a cooked nut product that has a lower calonic
EXAMPLE 4
value than the raw nut.
Potatoes were sliced to a thickness of 25 slices per
inch and coated with potato ?our.
The eifect of tem
EXAMPLE ll
Onion rings were cooked in a ?uidized ‘bed of sodium
perature on the quality of the potato chip product and
cooking time was investigated. The following table sum 50 chloride. The bed temperature was approximately
350° F. The onion rings were removed from the ?uid
ized bed when cooked.
Table 1.—E?ect of Temperature on Product Quality and
EXAMPLE 12
Cooking Time
55
Onion rings were cooked in a ?uidized bed of tri
calcium phosphate. The ?uidized bed was maintained
Temperature,
Cooking
_
° F.
Time,
Quality
at a temperature of approximately 350° F. The onion
Seconds
rings were removed from the bed when cooked.
35 Dark brown in spots—light elsewhere; 60
EXAMPLE l3
marizes the results of these tests:
45
85
65
sal?iness
low; crisp.
o.
Do.
Evenly browned; saltiness low; crisp.
240 Very lightly browned; crisp; saltiness low.
EXAMPLE 5
Raw potatoes were sliced to a thickness of 25 slices
per inch. The potato slices were placed in a wire basket
Breaded shrimp were cooked in a ?uidized bed of
sodium chloride at a temperature of 350° F. The vshrimp
were completely cooked in two to three minutes. The
shrimp prepared in this manner were tasty and the bread
65 ing'had a de?nite salt taste.
EXAMPLE 14
Shelled, raw, unbreaded, green shrimp were cooked in
and immersed in a ?uidized bed of tricalcium phosphate.
a ?uidized bed of sodium chloride at a temperature of
The potato slices were not coated before cooking. The 70 about 350° F. After cooking, the shrimp were eaten.
temperature of the ?uidized bed was regulated at about
EXAMPLE 15
350° F. A potato chip with good appearance and taste
Frankfurters were cooked in a ?uidized bed of sodium
was obtained after a cooking time of about 4 minutes.
chloride. The temperature of the bed was approxi
The ?uidized bed material, tricalcium phosphate, did not
mately 180° F.
adhere to the potato slices.
3,085,918
8
7
5. A process for preparing a cooked potato product
comprising the steps of: immersing the potato to be
cooked in a ?uidized bed of hot, nontoxic solid, dis_
crete particles wherein the potato is brought into direct
contact with the particles of the bed to cook said potato
and removing the cooked potato from the bed.
6. A process for preparing a cooked potato product
EXAMPLE 16
Frankfurter emulsion in a casing was cooked in a
?uidized bed of sodium chloride. The cooking tempera
ture was approximately 180° F. At this temperature
the framkfuiters were cooked throughout in 6 minutes.
EXAMPLE 17
Co?ee can be roasted by the ?uidized bed process
of this invention.
comprising the steps of: cutting the potato into pieces
having appropriate shapes; coating the potato pieces
It can be seen from the above examples that the food 10 With a nontoxic material; immersing the coated potato
pieces in a ?uidized bed of hot, nontoxic solid, discrete
preparation process of this invention is one of broad
particles wherein the potato pieces are brought into
application and can be used to treat many foods. An
direct contact with the particles of the bed to cook said
exhaustive listing of all the foods that can be treated
potato pieces; and removing the cooked pieces from the
by this process has not been attempted. All foods sus
ceptible to treatment by this process are intended to be
included within the scope of the appended claims.
What is claimed is:
bed.
7. A process for preparing a ‘cooked potato product
comprising the steps of: cutting the potato into pieces
having appropriate shapes} coating the potato pieces
1. A method for processing food products compris
ing the steps of: immersing a food to be processed in
a ?uidized bed of nontoxic solid discrete particles Where
in the food is brought into direct contact with the par
ticles of the bed to process said food, and then remov
ing the processed food from the ?uidized bed.
2. A process for cooking food products comprising
the steps of: coating a food with a nontoxic material;
immersing the coated food to be cooked in a ?uidized
bed of nontoxic solid discrete particles wherein the
coated food is brought into direct contact with the par
ticles of the bed to cook said food; and then removing
the cooked food from the ?uidized bed.
3. A process for cooking food products comprising
the steps of: immersing the food to be cooked in a
?uidized bed of hot, nontoxic solid, discrete particles
wherein the food
brought into direct contact with
the particles of the bed to cook said food, and then re
moving the cooked food from the ?uidized bed.
4. A process for freezing food products comprising
the steps of: immersing the food to be frozen in a ?uid
ized bed of cold, nontoxic solid, discrete particles where
in the food is brought into direct contact with the par
ticles of the bed to freeze said food, and then removing
the frozen food from the ?uidized bed.
with a ?nely-divided potato material; immersing the
20 coated potato pieces in a ?uidized bed of solid, discrete
sodium chloride particles wherein the coated potato
pieces are in direct contact with the particles of the bed
to cook said potato pieces, said bed being maintained
at a temperature of 250° to 550° F., and removing the
25 cooked potato pieces from the bed after 35 to 240 sec
onds.
References Cited in the ?le of this patent
UNITED STATES PATENTS
30
35
40
1,199,124
2,705,679
2,716,608
Snelling _____________ __ Sept. 26, 1916
Gri?iths et a1. ________ __ Apr. 5, 1955
Renish ____________ .._ Aug. 30, 1955
2,771,370
2,813,029
Allen ____________ __ Nov. 20, 1956
Shirk ______________ __ Nov. 12, 1957
2,818,049
Blaskowski et a1. ____ __ Dec. 31, 1957
2,835,483
Lindsay ____________ __ May 20, 1958
2,836,496
2,859,116
2,884,373
Salvo ______________ __ May 27, 1958
Heimbs et al. _________ __ Nov. 4, 1958
Bailey ____________ __ Apr. 28, 1959
564,925
Canada ____________ __ Oct. 21, 1958
FOREIGN PATENTS
Disclaimer
3,O35,918.—Hm10ld A. Sorgem‘i and Hewnan Nae/c,
F.
Scwhsel, W'orthington, Ohio. PROCESS 1-101: Columbus,
TREATING and
F001).George
Patent
dated
May
22,
1962.
Disclaimer
?led
Oct.
'23,
1963,
by
the
assignee,
The Battelle DeveZopment Corporation.
Hereby enters this disclaimer to claims 1 and 4 of said patent.
[Official Gazette December 31, 1963.]